An installation by foxy illustrations, who paint girly and slightly erotic images of girls, is on display at the Isetan Girl Gallery on the second floor of the Isetan Shinjuku department store until September 10th. As the title "foxy in Woods and the City," a play on "Sex and the City," suggests, the exhibition space depicts a girl in two opposing settings: the forest and the city. The "forest" area is decorated with lush trees and ivy, while a stuffed bear, foxy's popular character, is displayed in the grass. The "city" area features a fur rug with red stiletto heels rolling around, heart-shaped cushions, and a mirror with Chanel lipstick writing, evoking the image of a girl living in the city. Icing cookies by artist "cookieboy," featuring foxy's illustrations, hang from the ceiling. In addition to new original drawings and photographs created specifically for this exhibition, there will also be clothing and miscellaneous goods. Eleven new designs of the popular badges (1,260 yen) will be available. The clothing is a collaboration with the fashion brand "lilLilly." Also, his first mugs (2,625 yen) will be sold in a limited run of 50. "Foxy" is a derivative of the word "fox," meaning "with the supple sexual appeal of a fox." "It has a slightly different nuance from the similar word "sexy," and is cute but also a little erotic. I call not only my name as an illustrator, but also the girls I draw "foxy," and it represents a free-spirited girl who enjoys fashion," says foxy illustrations.
Regarding their style, they say, "I've always loved drawing, and have always drawn realistic things. When I was a teenager, I was fascinated by the singing, dancing girls, like the protagonist in Bob Fosse's musical film Cabaret, and the costumes in the shows, and that's what led to the style of illustration I have now."
foxy illustrations was born in Kyoto Prefecture in 1983 and grew up in Fukuoka Prefecture. After spending time in Denmark, Canada, Shanghai, London, etc. from the age of 18, they moved to Tokyo two years ago and began working as illustrators. After exhibiting at a joint event for artists hosted by an apparel company, they began working in fashion media. Their work has appeared on the cover of TOKYO ViVi, a special edition of ViVi, and in the British free magazine VICE Magazine, among others.
